Process for the manufacture of artificial wood and product obtained by said process



Patented July 5, 1927.

UNITED STATES 'IOMMASO SURDI, OF ROME, ITALY.

PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL WOOD AND PRODUCT OBTAINED BY SAID PROCESS No Drawing. Application filed October 12, 1925, Serial No. 82,208, and in Italy December 20, 182.

The present invention has for its subject matter a process for the manufacture of a resistant, indeformable, thermally and electrically non-conducting, incombustible matei rial. This material is intended to replace natural wood in a large number of applications as industrial and buildingmaterial on account of its specific technical properties in connection with determined purposes and on account of its economical advantages in the reater number of the applications of whic it is susceptible.

According to the invention, vegetable fibres of the most different kinds obtained by disintegrating small tree-branches, shrubs and herbaceous plants are subjected to a felting process. In the choice of the fibre kind intended for felting the necessary consideration should of course be paid to the strength and elastic properties which it is desired to impart to the product as well as to the usages for which the product is intended. In the felting process the elementary filamentous flexible fibres are united together 5 in a tangle, they getting interlocked and" twisted together in such a manner as to form a uniform mass throughout. The achievement of this end is assisted by a thorough stirring and mixing through mechanical means as well as by the addition of suitable binding substances, the binder being selected base by case according to the fibres used and to the product aimed at. The structure of the felt obtained is analogous to that of hair felt.

The following is illustrative of one of the methods of carrying out the novel (process for the manufacture of artificial woo 1.The small branches. fibrous herbs etc.

40 are disintegrated in disintegratin machines consisting of large diameter cy inders, in which they are crushed and o ened out and their filamentous fibres are Is free in their length.

2.Tl1e purified fibres are dried up.

3.After drying the fibres are treated with fire-proofing or d eing stufi's accordin to the product aime at and then drie again if required.

eL-The dry fibres are fed into the mixing machines where, together with a binder suitable for the kind of product aimed at, they are mixed and the felting process commenced.

to natural wood for a large 5.The mixedand partially felted fibres are fed into moulds according to the articles to be manufactured and they are compressed therein by mechanical or hydraulic presses, or they are compressed between rollers, if large plates are to be manufactured.

6.After compression, the closed moulds are transferred to the drying or baking rooms, where they are subjected to a proper adjustable temperature according to requ1rements, the rooms being ventilated. During this dryin the produced articles, according to the bin er'type used, may be exposed to stabilizing or insolubilizing vapours, or after drying they ma be put into baths replacing the action of t e vapours, the goods being then dried again. p

7.-The dried goods are then left standing for a longer or shorter period according to the class of goods concerned, this being the maturation period, after which they are passed on for such cutting and polishin operations as. may be called for by the finlshed article.

The main advantage of felting is that a practically uniform resistance is imparted to the product in all directions, the fibres being orientated in all directions in the product, and that the warping and deformations characteristic of natural wood are avoided, the source of such deformations in naturalwood bein the fact that all fibrous layers are arranged in a single direction, the hygroscopicity of the sapwood and the difference between the elongation coefficient of the sapwood and that of the fibres.

, The fibrous material matted and entangled through the thorough mixing, compressed at variable pressures in moulds and dried can supply a wide range of products showing various degrees of strength and densit the process permitting these properties to graduated to suit the character of the finished article aimed at.

The possibility of varying the manifold factors in the manufacture permits turning out a wide range of products in which some determined characteristic features are more developed in preference to other features, so as to secure constructive and technical advantages that make the products referable num r of applications. In fact:

1.-By a suitable choice of the vegetable smaller adhesiveness and a greater or smaller stiffness or flexibility of the material may be secured.

5.B the addition of inert substances to the bin er, the spaces between the fibres can be filled up with an agent increasing, if

necessary, the insulating and fireproof qualities eventually already imparted to the material by a previous suitable treatment.

The feature according to permits of imparting to artificial wood thermal and electric non-conducting roperties and incombustibility in a very igh degree, indeed in a higher and more uniform manner than sizes, shaped articles bein is practicable with natural wood, with which the incombustibility and the increase in nonconductiveness obtained with the treatments thus far known are confined to the surface or to layers in the vicinity of the surface, whereas the same chemical treatments applied to each fibre of the artificial wood impart the said properties to the whole mass and in -a high degree.

For the same reason the dyeing imparted to the single fibres gives any deslred colour to the whole mass. This may make such irtificial wood very valuable for domestic usages as well as for ornamental purposes in the .building industry;

Turning to rofit the pro erties shown by artificial wood in one of t e stages of its manufacture, the novel product can be compressed in moulds of different forms and thus obtained which dispense with a portion of the Work required to manufacture the same articles from natural wood.

Where necessary in order to comply with special building requirements, artificial wood can be armoured, in a similar manner to concrete, with iron or steel bars of an shape and in reticule or in lattice form, wit the intermediary of metal shavings, the felting of the fibres being thus assisted by the metal binding and an exceptionally high re.

sistance imparted to the whole.

Artificial wood can be worked with tools like those in use for natural wood and so it can be sawn, turned and ground. Planing is difficult with some specially hard types of artificial wood and can be advantageously replaced by grinding.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be per-- formed, I declare that what I claim is 1. Process for the manufacture of artificial wood consisting of disintegrating treebranches or herbs or other similar substances either alone or in'combination with each other by disintegrating machines, drying the fibres, treating them with fireprooting sub: stances, and subjecting them to a felting Process as follows, feeding them into 1nixmg machines with a binder, feeding them into moulds wherein they are compressed by suitable means and, in this condition and while still in the mould, are dried in hot chambers with adjustable temperature, after which. they are put into stabilizing baths, dried and left standing for a maturation period.

2. Process for the manufacture of artificial wood consisting of disintegrating treebranches or herbs or other similar substances either alone or in combination with each other by disintegrating machines, drying the fibres, treating them with dyeing substances, and subjecting them to a felting process as follows, feeding them into mixing machines with a binder, feeding them into moulds wherein they are compressed by, suitable means and, in this condition and while still in the mould, are dried in hot chambers with adjustable temperature, after which they are put into stabilizing baths, dried and left standing for a maturation period.

3. Process for the manufacture of artificial wood consisting of disintegrating treebranches or herbs or other similar substances either alone or in combination with each other, by disintegrating machines, drying the fibres, treating them with fireproofingv substances and dyeing substances, and subjecting them to a felting process as follows, feeding them into mixing machines with a binder, feeding them into moulds wherein they are compressed by suitable means and, in this condition and while still in the mould,

are dried'in hot chambers with adjustable temperature, after which they are put into stabilizing baths, dried and left standing for a maturation period.

4. Artificial wood made from disintegrated tree-branches or herbs or other similar substances either alone or in combination with each other by disintegrating machines, drying the fibres, treating them with fireproofing substances, and subjecting them to a felting process as follows, feeding them into mixing machines with a binder, feeding them into moulds whereinthey are compressed by suitable means and, in this condition and while still in the mould, are dried in hot chambers with adjustable temper-ature, after which they are put into stabilizing baths, dried and left standing for a maturation period.

5. Artificial wood made from disintegrated tree-branches or herbs or other similar substances either alone or in combination with each other by disintegating machines, drying the fibres, treating them with dyeing substances, and subjecting them to a felting process as follows, feeding them into mixing machines with a binder, feeding them into moulds wherein they are compressed by suitable means and, in this condition and while still in the mould, are dried in hot chambers with adjustable temperature, after which they are put into stabilizing baths, dried and left standing for a maturation period.

6. Artificial wood made from disintegrated tree-branches or herbs or other similar substances either alone or in combination with each other by disintegrating machines, drying the fibres, treating them with fireproofing substances and dyeing sub stances, and subjectin them to a felting process as follows, feeding them into mixing machines with a binder, feeding them into moulds wherein they are compressed by suitable means and, in this connection and While still in the mould, are dried in hot chambers with adjustable temperature, after which they are put into stabilizing baths, dried and left standing for a maturation period.

Signed at Milan (Italy), this 24th day of September, 1925.

TOMMASO SURDI. 

